Our family currently has two cats. The first is a 14 year old female who hides a lot and doesn't like anyone but me, and the second is a 6 year old male who is friendly to all but aloof.
Currently they don't get along; The older cat didn't like the young one as a kitten, and when the male grew up to twice the female's size he started bullying her (although sometimes it seems he just wants to play).
So with two cats who already simply tolerate each other, I'm unsure of how to go about integrating three new arrivals to the family. Normally we would never take on such a big load with five cats in a single house, but my brother aquired them at his apartment (two himself, then another which was his roommate's. But then his roommate moved out and was going to put his cat in a shelter if my brother didn't want to take care of him).
The situation is such that my brother financially must move back right now, may stay for years while going to school, and giving away the cats isn't an option.
We considered making them outdoor cats, but my brother doesn't want to do that because it's dangerous and cold out there being Washington state.
And the fact is that they'd probably end up spending most of their time in the house anyway.
The three cats coming are all around 1-2 years old. They get along well, except one bullies another one a bit.
So I've got several things I need to accomplish here, and need some advice:
1. Getting the cats accustomed to each other and fostering good relationships amongst them.
2. Ensuring these cats get accustomed to the new double litterboxes, and do not go around making messes around the house.
3. Ensuring these new cats, with claws, are trained to use scratching posts or pieces of extra carpet. They already destroyed a section of carpet in my brother's current apartment.
It should be noted that the three cats already visited this house once months ago so that we could take them to the vet nearby; We tried introducing the two resident cats to them while the visitors were locked in a single room, but the 14 year old was hidden the whole time, and the 6 year old was so frightened and confused that he was shaking.
Two of the visiting cats remained hidden under the bed the whole time, with the third cat (the most adventurous and friendly), came out to say hi to me and even tried to interact with the 6 year old (Who, in turn, ended up hissing and batting at the poor visiting cat, who seemed more perplexed than scared).
Currently they don't get along; The older cat didn't like the young one as a kitten, and when the male grew up to twice the female's size he started bullying her (although sometimes it seems he just wants to play).
So with two cats who already simply tolerate each other, I'm unsure of how to go about integrating three new arrivals to the family. Normally we would never take on such a big load with five cats in a single house, but my brother aquired them at his apartment (two himself, then another which was his roommate's. But then his roommate moved out and was going to put his cat in a shelter if my brother didn't want to take care of him).
The situation is such that my brother financially must move back right now, may stay for years while going to school, and giving away the cats isn't an option.
We considered making them outdoor cats, but my brother doesn't want to do that because it's dangerous and cold out there being Washington state.
And the fact is that they'd probably end up spending most of their time in the house anyway.
The three cats coming are all around 1-2 years old. They get along well, except one bullies another one a bit.
So I've got several things I need to accomplish here, and need some advice:
1. Getting the cats accustomed to each other and fostering good relationships amongst them.
2. Ensuring these cats get accustomed to the new double litterboxes, and do not go around making messes around the house.
3. Ensuring these new cats, with claws, are trained to use scratching posts or pieces of extra carpet. They already destroyed a section of carpet in my brother's current apartment.
It should be noted that the three cats already visited this house once months ago so that we could take them to the vet nearby; We tried introducing the two resident cats to them while the visitors were locked in a single room, but the 14 year old was hidden the whole time, and the 6 year old was so frightened and confused that he was shaking.
Two of the visiting cats remained hidden under the bed the whole time, with the third cat (the most adventurous and friendly), came out to say hi to me and even tried to interact with the 6 year old (Who, in turn, ended up hissing and batting at the poor visiting cat, who seemed more perplexed than scared).
